Today in 1999: Steffi Graf invites time into his tennis career

Today, in 1999, Steffi Graf announced his immediate withdrawal from tennis.

The 30-year-old German amazed the sports world when, just a few months after winning the French Open and finishing second in Wimbledon and still finishing third in the world, he decided to close his club.

Graf, who had fought his way back from knee surgery two years earlier, had announced that 1999 would be his last game, but 10 days after it proved to be his last tour match and the US Open, where he was among the favorites to claim the title threatening, he confirmed its decision to leave immediately.

His decision came at the time of the watershed match, after compatriot Boris Becker had also announced his retirement at the end of 1999.

However, Graf had no doubt to turn his back on sports, which made him a household name around the world.

He said at the time, “I’m not sorry because I have a feeling I’ve achieved everything I can.”

It is difficult to disagree with the graph’s assessment.

The Mannheim-born player, who became the youngest WTA ranking at the age of 13, demanded the first of his 22 Grand Slam tournaments, two less than Margaret Court’s record when he won the 17-year-old in Roland-Garros in 1987.

By the time he decided to call it a day, he had added five other French Open championships, four in Australia, five in the US Open and seven in Wimbledon to make him one of the greatest players of all time.

His stats give a very impressive reading overall, he won 107 career singles and earned $ 21,895,277. He was number one in the world for a total of 377 weeks, 186 in a row between August 1987 and March 1991.

Graf married American star Andre Agass in October 2001 and has a son Jaden Gil and a daughter Jaz.